How to start a good morning routine

[tea]

Does anyone have any tips on how to start a good morning routine? I’m really struggling with this lately.

I find it’s difficult to get out of bed when it’s cold and then I end up sleeping in more! Which isn’t so bad, except it’s affecting the rest of my day. I want to wake up early and be more productive but I’m struggling on motivating myself to do this. A good routine in the mornings would help so much and the rest of my day would flow so well, but I just don’t know how to start.

At the moment I have alarms set for 5 and 6am. Usually I’ll ignore the 5am one though. I realised quickly that setting unrealistic goals wasn’t going to work, so 6am seemed better.

I just can’t get motivated! I need your advice, how do I start a good morning routine? Do you have one? Are you struggling too? Do you prefer a good night time routine instead?

[EarthMama]

@tea I am so here for this advice! When I moved out of home I had this grand plan for waking up super early, morning yoga and herbal tea and reading…I think I’ve done it twice in five months. The cold really doesn’t help…

[Aunt_Flo]

I’m waiting for the good advice to roll in!

I can usually get up earlier on weekends, or when I have something to look forward to. Maybe moving something you usually enjoy later in the day (like a snack, drink or activity) to earlier in the morning can help to give you something to look forward to?

Aside from weekend brunches or hikes, the only thing I can get up early for is exercise. I really like going for early morning swims. I love the cold.

Buuuut I need to practice what I preach more. I really like night time and staying up late, so mornings are hard for me. I’m always rushing out the door still eating my breakfast, oversleeping and doing my makeup on the train.

I LOVE my night time routine. A couple of nights a week I’ll do hot yoga, then I love to burn a candle, play a video game or read, have a shower and do a nightly facial routine. I loooooooove night time.

[tea]

@earthmama Winter is making the struggle so much harder!!!

Ohhhh nice night time routine @aunt_flo ! Omg, hot yoga tho?? Noooo, how do you do that? There’s no way I could deal with that much sweat…

I’ve been using the Headspace app a lot more recently, and they just came out with a new feature this week where you can do group yoga every hour on the hour. I think trying to wake up earlier to join in on the 6am session will help motivate me to get up! But, I’ll keep you updated haha

[Aunt_Flo]

@tea I adjusted surprisingly quick! It’s power yoga in 40° heat. So, you do sweat quite a bit but as long as you’re well hydrated beforehand, it winds up being quite tolerable.

I despise summer, but absolutely love hot yoga.

That’s cool, I didn’t realise the Headspace option had that feature!

[-_-]

Oh I’m here for this thread! I’m definitely with @aunt_flo on the night time routine.

@tea it’s super hard to get up when it’s cold. Here are my tips based on my routines – which have taken years to sort and they do change depending on the season! So for winter:

Night routine
– tidy up room and get out clothes for the next day. If a job only takes a few minutes to do – do it! i.e. put on a load of washing, wash the dishes
– pack my work bag, make sure laptop is plugged in
– get out my coffee plunger, fill kettle with water
– make sure lunch is packed (leftovers from dinner)
– take a hot shower, brush teeth, make sure all bits i.e. makeup are where i can access them without thinking in the morning
– make sure I can reach my heater from bed to turn on / off
– make sure dressing gown and uggies are in easy to reach place
– sit up in bed and watch netflix, make sure my phone is charged and check alarm is set for 5.45 (stop looking at phone at least 30 mins before sleep)
– take my valerian, put my eye mask on and we are out!!

Morning routine
– alarm goes off, reach down and turn on heater, snooze alarm til 6
– get up at 6, put on dressing gown and uggies, put the kettle on, while kettle is on drink water and start moisterising, apply makeup
– once kettle is boiled fill up plunger
– while coffee is brewing finish applying make up
– take coffee on a tray back into bed (my room is now warm and cosy from the heater)
– read the news in bed, scroll my socials for 20 minutes
– get out of bed, get dressed, brushed my teeth
– I am out the door at 6.40, on the train I do my meditation (using Insight Timer or Headspace App), neck stretches, read my book and do sodoku so I’m awake when I get to work – I do have an hour and 15 minutes on the train so heaps of time but sometimes I also just sleep haha
– Make breakfast and coffee at work

my biggest tips are COMFORT – investing in a nice winter dressing gown and uggs have made my mornings so much more enjoyable. The candle tip is great @aunt_flo and feels so special!! I exercise when I can in the evenings about 2 nights a week but I just accept that in winter it’s okay to go a bit slower and not fit everything in. A routine shouldn’t be hard.

Also, don’t be hard on yourself if it doesn’t stick. There’s no right or wrong routine!

[sextronaut]

@stephaniaaaah that routine is truly what dreams are made of. You’ve inspired me to try and kick my butt into gear and have a healthier mental space in the mornings because I’m always so grumpy! I’ve asked for a luxe dressing gown for my birthday so hopefully that’ll help a bit, haha! And I had no idea about that feature on the headspace app @tea, I can’t wait to try it!

[tea]

“I just accept that in winter it’s okay to go a bit slower and not fit everything in. A routine shouldn’t be hard.” Ah yeah, so true @stephaniaaaah!! Thank you! Omg, your routines are goals tho! I woke up early this morning and did yoga with my gf, not as early as I would have liked but it’s a start! You’re so right about not worrying if a routine sticks or not – I guess it’s about finding what’s right for you, instead of doing things you think you SHOULD be doing because someone else does.

[-_-]

YAY! @sextronaut @tea

Honestly my routine is really about making my life as easy and as relaxing as humanly possible for the morning – the steps are really small but I’ve tried to think it out in a logical sense i.e. ok I want coffee so what can I do while it is brewing instead of staring aimlessly out the kitchen window into a black void – so it’s easy to do my makeup then.

I think putting planning into where stuff is in your house as well helps – I had SOO much cosmetics and make up so I just figured out what I used every day and have that all neat and accessible and put the rest away in a drawer (future me’s problem) so it’s not cluttering my mind trying to look for stuff.

100% agree @tea and you don’t need to do the same routine every morning either! So you can just say that you will get up for yoga on one or two days a week – I think this makes it much easier to hit your goals and is so much more motivating!

[Aunt_Flo]

@stephaniaaaah now that is a ROUTINE!

You’ve inspired me to prepare coffee for work. I’m way too tired to get my aeropress out in the morning, so I’ve started doing it the night before.

I’ve also started a little monthly tracker to see how I’m going – even one more evening a month where I go to bed at a reasonable hour will be an improvement!

[Author]

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